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OperationMobocracy t1_iy7zdnf wrote

Reply to comment by TA_faq43 in Dashcam install to Subaru Legacy with hidden wires by Rick91981

It's surprising they're not integrated already. I think the problem isn't just providing a cleanly integrated camera, it's the user interface and access to the camera's storage/video footage that's also an engineering headache.

This seems like an obvious feature add for the infotainment system -- a screen that provides a camera UI. The head unit has access to the USB ports (Carplay and USB media playback), so writing to a USB stick for exporting footage shouldn't be a problem.

But I have little faith we'd ever see this on a Subaru unless Harmon decided that dashcam management was something they wanted to get into. Subaru seems to tolerate garbage from Harmon, so asking for more features seems unlikely.

Cameras with their own wifi or bluetooth access probably could bypass this, but there's still issues with getting a mobile device connected that would ultimately require some kind of UI functionality.

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TA_faq43 t1_iy89047 wrote

With the trend these days, wouldn’t surprise me if this was sold as SaS and users have to buy monthly subscription plans.

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OperationMobocracy t1_iyax20d wrote

You're not wrong.

I mean, app-based remote start is sold SaS. I guess I might buy a similar service at a similar cost and timeline as remote start for app-based remote image retrieval.

I think if I'm buying the fucking dash camera hardware as part of an option/package, then basic access to my dashcam video ought to be free and not SaS. I guess I tolerate the remote start cost because it offsets some of the cost of the cellular modem in the car, and it was dirt cheap for a long time.

I'm glad I'm old enough to not see this economy in 25 years -- the capitalists will have everyone on a weekly rental plan and working at jobs that just pay the weekly rent.

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